To outsiders, the hallmark of the AMD64 hybrid 32/64-bit architecture is its 64-bit instruction set extensions. But to company executives, that's only a small part of the story of the Opteron server processor and its cousin, the Athlon 64 desktop chip.

Best Buy made headlines more than a month ago with its decision to outsource its IT operations to Accenture--a deal that could have deep repercussions throughout the retail sector as top retailers reassess what's core and what's not for them.

When its vaunted Itanium architecture--jointly developed with Hewlett-Packard--debuted in 2001, Intel expected to displace x86 and herald the industry's shift to 64-bit computing. It didn't turn out that way.

Information life-cycle management may be the latest buzzword in storage today, but a key ingredient of ILM is perhaps the oldest and arguably most mundane forms of storage--tape. All of the well-known providers of tape technology, from manufacturers of media, cartridges and drives to suppliers of automated libraries, are bringing to market significant new products that raise the bar in terms of capacity, data-transfer rates, scalability, price/performance and automation.

Printer vendors sure are an honest bunch. Earlier this year, they promised their color laser printer prices would drop to $600 or less, making color a no-brainer buying decision for most business customers. And true to their word, that's today's reality.

On Thursday, Canon introduced three new multimedia projectors: the LV-7225, LV-7220, and LV-5220. Each model is equipped with Canon optics and a 1.6x optical zoom lens with the ability to display a 100-inch diagonal image from 8.2 feet.

A Virginia health-care provider gets set to automate its patient records

As election season nears and issues spark heated debate, there is one area that both Democrats and Republicans seem to agree is important for Americans--and, ultimately, for VARs and solution providers--health-care technology. More specifically, both President Bush and Democratic challenger John Kerry are jumping on the electronic medical records (EMR) bandwagon.

Cash-register machines may be one of the most unsexy pieces of technology in the history of the world. But some resellers haven't let appearances fool them out of cashing in on point-of-sales (POS) solutions, which are enjoying a resurgence.

A number of solution providers are making their mark in an unsung sector of the market with technologies ranging from wireless security software to flat-panel monitors. With all the talk from big vendors such as IBM, Hewlett-Packard and Cisco on the treasures of the small and midsize business market, the "S" in SMB has been overshadowed. And that's exactly where several resellers say they're seeing the most demand for emerging technologies and upgrade purchases.

Low-cost "case modding' adds pizzazz to a dull computer

The beige box is dead. What started as a hobby powered by rotary tools and hacksaws has become big business in the form of PC modification, also known as "case modding." Today, case-mod parts are plentiful and easy to install.

Special pricing has been a sharp thorn in the side of Tech Data. And Steve Raymund, chairman and CEO of Tech Data, has been one of the more outspoken critics of special pricing--also known as ship and debit--because of the escalating administrative costs that result when product prices are adjusted after the shipment goes out.

While economists and politicians debate our economic future, you can take solace in the midmarket'that prosperous bastion of the IT marketplace. In this segment, customers are ready and willing to seriously spend not only on sound advice as well.

IBM raised its estimate for the number of people it expects to hire in 2004 to 18,800, up from an earlier forecast of 15,000, citing strong growth in key business areas such as consulting, grid computing and Linux.

The deadline for VARBusiness' 2nd Annual Technology Innovators Awards has been extended to 5:00 pm ET, Friday, Aug. 20, 2004. Entries can be submitted via our online form (Registration required; existing ChannelWeb registrations can be used, new registrations can be obtained on the spot.)